Brush type polishing machine



Nov. 16, 1954 A. s. MCGIBBON 4 2,694,274 BRUSH TYPE POLISHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 14, 1952 5 Sheefs-Sheet 1 qununlunnlnu 3 11 men to r Amy/5 J". e 6/550 attorneys Nov. 16, 1954 A. s. MCGIBBON BRUSH TYPE POLISHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 14, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 nnentor attorneys 1954 A. s. MCGIBBON BRUSH TYPE POLISHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 14, 1952 r O f n e D n 3 #ZZLM/L (Ittornegs NOV. 16, 1954 A. S. MQGIBBON BRUSH TYPE POLISHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 14, 1952 3nventor ARCH/E 6'. 7c 6/660 u Gttorneg s Nov. 16, 1954 A. s. MCGIBBON 2,694,274

BRUSH TYPE POLISHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 14, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 (lttornegs United States Patent 2,694,274 BRUSH TYPE POLISHING MACHINE Archie S. McGibbon, Thorndale, Pa., assiguor to Lukens Steel Company, Coatesville, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 14, 1952, Serial No. 304,321 2 Claims. (Cl. 51-35) I able in those cases where operating schedules require high rates of production.

The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a machine having a mounting structure for supporting a rotating brush whereby the brush is universally movable over the surface of the work piece, and having mechanism to oscillate the brush independent of either I the rotary motion or universal movement thereof, and further including mechanism whereby the polishing pressure between the brush and the work piece may be adjusted to a given setting and then the brush raised and lowered without disturbing such setting.

The mounting structure comprises a bridge member having wheels adapted to run on tracks parallel to a supporting bed for the work piece and is power driven for movement thereover. A power driven trolley carries the brush and is adapted to run on tracks on the bridge, the trolley tracks being disposed at right angles to the bridge tracks. By controlling the movement of the bridge and the trolley, universal movement of the brush over the surface of the work piece is obtained.

The brush is rotatably mounted on a swinging support which is pivoted on the trolley and extends downwardly therefrom. The support is also connected to certain lifting mechanism mounted on the trolley, which provides for upward and downward adjustment of the brush. Thus, the brush is adjustable in a vertical direction for establishing desired polishing pressure between the brush and the work piece, and when the pressure has been set, the brush may be moved away from the work piece and then returned thereto without afiecting the setting. So, too, the brush may be adjusted to compensate forthe wear of the brush and for accommodating plates of varying thicknesses.

Also associated with the trolley is a brush drive system and a mechanism for imparting a small, continuous oscillatory motion to the brush while it is rotating. The oscillatory motion preferably takes place along the axis of rotation of the brush and is independent of the .ro-.

tation thereof. This motion aids in obliterating grain or scar lines on the surface of the work piece and minimizes the visibility of such grains as are not completely removed. It also prevents accumulation of polishing compound in the brush bristles.

With the equipment arranged as above referred to, the matter of polishing a work piece such as a plate becomes a simple and rapid operation, and the finish imparted is highly uniform throughout the surface of the plate.

The novelty and utility of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

- 4 Figure l is a more or less diagrammatic sectional elevational view of a machine constructed in accordance with the, invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1;

2 Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional elevationalview taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a cross section taken on the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view partly broken away and taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 1; I

Figures 6 to '11 inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating various positions of the brush under different operating conditions; and V Figure 12 is a control and flow diagram- Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the general arrangement of the equipment of the present invention will be described. A work piece such as a plate W is mounted on a bed generally indicated bythe reference numeral 1,

which is constructed of concrete 1a, in which is embedded a plurality of I-beams 1b disposed transversely of the bed and spaced from each other lengthwise of the bed. On the top part of the I-beams, a plurality of abutting plates 22 are secured as by bolts 33. The bolts are countersunk in the plates and are removable to accommodate clamps 44, which secure the work piece to the bed. Certain other threaded holes such as holes 3a-3a may be provided in the plates for the clamps so that the clamps may be desirably positioned on the plates to accommodate work pieces of varying sizes and shapes.

Located on each side of the bed are recesses 5-5, which extend throughout the length thereof. The concrete portion of the bed is slightly tapered from the center section out to the recesses, leaving certain space between the top part of the concrete and the plates to accommodate equipment adapted to circulate a coolant medium where operating conditions require cooling of the work piece.

I-beams 66 are secured to the bottom of the recesses 55 and extend throughoutthe length of the bed. On

the top of the I-beams are secured tracks 7-7, each having a V-shaped top section which accommodates the V-shaped grooves in the wheels 8-8. The wheels 88 are connected to the bridge member generally indicated by the reference numeral 9.

As best seen in Figure 2, the bridge member 9 is generally rectangular in shape and is ordinarily constructed of I-beams which are welded together and braced by certain structural members. The power to drive the bridge to and fro over the bed is provided by electric motor 10, which is appropriately secured to the bridge. The motor operates through gear box 11 to rotate the shaft 12, which is keyed to one pair'of the wheels 88.

Secured to the top of the bridge are tracks 13--13, each having a V-shaped top section which accommodates the V-shaped grooves in the wheels 14-14 and 15--15 of trolley 16. As best seen in Figures 3 and 5, the trolley 16 is generally rectangular in plan shape and is comprised essentially of certain U-shaped beams 16a and 16d respectively connected to U-shaped beams 16c and 16b by struts 16g. Beams 16c and 16d are connected by cross members 16c and 16). The assembly is secured together as by welding to deck plate 17. Each trolley wheel is connected between beams 16a16b and 16c16d.

The motive power for the trolley is supplied by an electric motor 18 (see Figure 2), appropriately mounted on'the deck plate 17, which 19 torotate the shaft 20 14-14.

Extending upwardly from the trolley (see Figures 1, 3 and 4 is a framing structure or head generally indicated by the reference numeral 21, which is adapted to support the brush B. By ones appropriately controlling the operation of the electric motors 10 and 18, the trolley member 16, hence the brush. B, may be universally moved over the bed and work piece.

The head or frame 21 comprises four upright supports 22, 23, 24 and 25, on which are secured mounting brackets 22a, 23a, 24a and 25a. The mounting brackets support a plate 26, to which is secured brush drive motor 27. The shaft of the drive motor 27 has a pulley which. rotates the belt 28, extending downwardly to another pulley 29 secured to the drive shaft 30 (see Figures 1 and 5). The manner in which the brush is driven will be explained in connection with keyed to the pair of wheels is coupled to a gear box' the arrangement for suspending the brush from the trolley which" follows.

As seen in Figure 5, the drive shaft 1s mounted on cross members 162 and--16f as by shaft supporting bearings. 31: and. .32.. Mounted. near: each endrof. -i the shaft are bearings 33 and.34.for-mounting;the;ends of thebrus'h .liftingarms 35J-aud.=2t6;=on.the shafiti The arms extend somewhat downwardly and attheother ends thereof are secured; bearings-37 and; 3-3;. which give rotarysupport to..the brush... The armsare rigidly tied 'togetherbyycross bar 39. Also supportedg.between the arms isstop; bar 87, the wuse-of whichqwilli bedescribed hereinafter.

It will be apparent'from:theabovedescription-that the operating .a-rms may be pivoted; relative. :to the. trolley tllilis zpivot action taking :place about the axisof the :drive s aft.

As seen in" Figures .4 and. 5,, the pulley -40 ,-,seeured to 'drive1shaft:30, ydrives belt 41', -which extends down wardly to. drive pulley 42,, secured to the brush shaft coupling mechanism generally'indicatedby thereference numeral43; Theconpling mechanism comprises a tubular member 44 andcouplingdiwhich are supported in bearing 38'and bearing 46, the latter'secured to L.-shapedbracket 47, mounted on arm 36. The bearings 38and 46 permit rotation. of .the :tubular mem ber.44 butprevent. axial movement thereof. The. pulley 42 is keyed to the tubular member-Alas by key 48. The inner. end of the tubular member 44;andcoupling are splined togetheras by splines 49..-and:heldv against axial separation, by. a. set screw 50. The other. side of the coupling 45- is splinedto-the bruslrshaft 51 as by splines 52. Thus, rotation of the pulley -42 causesirotation of the tubular member 44, which rotates thecoupling 45 and the brush B.

The manner in which the brus'hds oscillated will.now be described.

Bearing 37, which supports the left-hand side 'o fithe shaft 51 (see Figures 4 and 5), permitsbothrotation ofthe shaft and axial movement of the. shaft theretbrough. The right-hand side'of the, shaft. is secured to a rod153, disposed within the tubularmemberrM. The outer end of the rod-53"is coupled to one e-ndof lever member 54, which ispivotedas by-pivot- 55- to L-shaped member 47. The other end of the lever member 54 is pivoted as by'pi-vot 5.6-tov the. piston rod 57 of. brush oscillating cylinder-58:. The; other; end of the brush oscillating cylinder 58 isrsecuredto the brush liftingarm-36. asby pivot 59. The cylinder 58 is adapted to be suppliedlwith fluid through lines-60 and 61 in-a manner to. move the piston: 58a back.and forth in the cylinderto cause tl1e.r0d53.'to:move.back and forth, which oscillates= the, brush in a: direction along its axis-of rotation.

As seen in Figure-4, thegbrushis in:the:farthermost left-hand position.v Whentherod 53-is moved. to the right, the brush isalso pulled to theyright, the relative axial motion between the-brushshaftS-l and.the coupling being accommodated by the splines. 52.

As will be. apparent, this arrangement permits the brush to be rotated while at'the same. time providing for oscillation of the brush.

The above-described feature of the invention of providing for oscillation of the brush while it isrotating is important for severalreasons. For example, in the usual polishing operation, a wet abrasive compound-or slurry is used, and I have found that'oscillating the brush tends to keep the brush clean by preventing accumulations. of the slurry within the brush bristles. Furthermore, I have. found that the visibility of any streaks or small grains which may be on the surface of the work piece is greatly reduced or eliminated even in those instances where suchgrains are not physically removed by the brushing operation. In additionto the above, the oscillation of the brush enhances. the ultimate finish by promoting abetter luster onthe surface of the work piece.

The manner in which the. brush is adapted to be moved toward and'away from the work piece will now be described.

As seen in Figures3 and 4, a hand wheel 62 is mounted on shaft 63, which is rotatably mounted'inbearings 64 and.65, respectively securedto support brackets 22a and24a. The shaft carries a worm 66, which engages a worm-wheel 67, attached'to shaft 68 The shaft 68 is attached to upright members 24 and 25 by support and-bearing arrangements 69 and- 70.- At each-end of the shaft 68 are secured cranks 71 and 72. The cranks carry pins 73 and-74, which are attached to yokes 75 and 76, which are respectively secured to piston rods 77 and 78 of the brush lifting cylinders 79 and 80. The lower ends of the cylinders 79 and 80 are respectively attached to the operating arms 35 and 36 as by pivots 81 and 82. The cylinders 79 and 80 areadapted tobe respectively supplied with fluid through lines -838,4 and 85--86. The manner in which the fluid is supplied will be described hereinafter.

The operation of the above-described mechanism ivill-be explainedin.rconnection .With Figures 6 through In Figure 6 the-fluid is exhausted from chamber 79a, while chamber 79b is filled with fluid, resulting in the piston 77a being in its topmost position. It will be noted. that the upwardly extending abutment 77b is in contact with the top end 79c of. the-cylinder. This spaced-apart relationship'of the. piston 77a and the end of the cylinder permits fluid toenterinto the chamber (when desired) while at the same time provides for the rigidinterengagementof the piston and the end wall. so that the cylinder, and the piston rod may be moved together.

When the apparatus is-inthe condition as above described, the polishing pressure between the brush and the workpiece may be set. This is accomplished by rotating the handwheel 62, which rotates the crank 71, resulting-in an upward or downward movement of the brush. In the figure-the brush has been arranged with relation tothe work piece so-that the bristles are just contacting the surface to establish a very light contact pressure.

Afterthe contact pressure. has been set, the brush may be. raised away from the workpiece (see Figure 7) by supplying pressure fluid .to chamber 79a through line 83. Thefbrus'h then may be moved downwardly by exhausting the pressure in chamber 79a and supplying pressure tochamber 79b; The brush will return downwardly to. its original position so that the contact pressure setting is not disturbed.

Theabove-described arrangement, which permits the operatortov adjust the polishing pressure-of the brush in aneasy and convenient -manner while at the same time providing for the raising and lowering of the brush withoutre adj-ustment of the original polishing pressure is an important part of the invention. 'In finishing operations .it is particularly desirable that constant polishing pressure. be maintained in order that the luster will be uniform in all areas of the work piece. Thus, when an end oflthe work piece has been reached, the machine is adjusted for reverse travel along a path adjacent to that originally traversed. With the apparatus of the present invention, the brush maybe raised, reversed and then lowered to the work piece without the necessity of adjusting the polishing pressure. By accomplishing the reversal while the. brush is raised, undesirable finishes or marks near the end of the work piece are prevented. Furthermore, if the reversal were to take place while the brush was in contact with the end of the Work piece, the brush would be susceptible to being-cut.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate how the brush may be raised to accommodate a work .piece of considerable thickness while at the. same time permitting the brush .to .be moved away and then lowered without further adjustment and contact pressure. This is accomplished in the same manner asdescribed in connection with Figures 6 and 7. In Figure 9 it is to be observed that the stop bar 37 has contacted the underside of the cross member 16c. The stop bar-acts to limit the upward travel of arms 35 and36.

Figures 10 and 11 illustrate how the apparatus is utilized totake careof brush wear. In this instance the brush is shown to be worn to about one-half its original bristle length. As will be apparent, the hand wheel 62 is rotated so that the crank 71 moves downwardly to permit desired polishing contact between the brush and the work piece. Figure 11 shows the brush raised from the work piece.

The mechanism .for' operati-ng the brush oscillating cyl inderand-the brush lifting cylinders. will be described in connection with Figure 12 wherein a hydraulic fluid supply tank 88 is connected withpump 90, which is driven by pump motor 91. Pressure fluid is supplied through line 92 to lines 93 and 94, which respectively supply lift valve 95 and oscillating valve 96.

The operation of the lift valve is as follows: When the operator pushes the handle 97 to the left, pressure fluid passes through the chambers in the valve out to line 98, which supplies fluid to lines 84 and 86 of brush lifting cylinders 79 and 80. At the same time, the lines 83 and 85 are connected to the supply tank via line 99 and line 100. The above-described operation moves the brush downwardly as described in connection with Fig ures 6, 8 and 10.

When the handle 97 is moved to the right, pressure fluid is supplied through the chambers in the valve to line 99, which supplies pressure fluid to lines 83 and 85 of the cylinders. At the same time, the lines 84 and 86 of the cylinders are connected to the supply tank through line 98 and line 100. This operation raises the brush from the Work piece in the manner described in connection with Figures 7, 9 and 11.

The operation of the brush oscillating cylinder is as follows: As will be apparent, the control pistons of the valve 96 are pivotally connected to an operating arm 101, which is pivotally connected to the top of the valve. The outer end of the arm is pivotally connected to a plunger 102 of solenoid 103. The spring 104 forces the operating rod upwardly to position shown in Figure 12. This is the position of the mechanism when the solenoid 103 is de-energized. In this position, high pressure fluid from line 94 is supplied to line 60 of the brush oscillating cylinder 58 through the chambers in the valve, and the line 61 of the cylinder is connected to the supply tank 88 through the line 100. When the solenoid 103 is energized, the control pistons of the valve reverse position so that line 61 is supplied with pressure fluid while line 60 is exhausted to the supply tank. By energizing and de-energizing the solenoid, high pressure fluid is then alternately supplied to each side of the brush oscillating cylinder 58, which operates the heretofore described mechanism for oscillating the brush. The solenoid is adapted to be energized and de-energized through the motor driven switch or timer 105, which opens and closes the solenoid supply circuit. The device is arranged to provide continuous oscillation of the brush during the polishing operation. If, for any reason, oscillation is not desired, the timer may be disconnected. In such instances the brush remains in the position shown in Figure 4.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the surface finishing of a work piece comprising: a rotatable brush adapted to engage the surface of the work piece, the brush having a shaft; a supporting frame for the brush; a pair of arms pivotally connected with the frame, each arm having bearing means for rotatably supporting the shaft of said brush; mechanism for vertically adjusting the brush including a rotatable crank connected with the frame, a fluid pressure cylinder and piston, one of last said elements being connected with the crank and the other with one of said arms; and mechanism for rotating the brush and for oscillating the brush along its axis of rotation including a drive pulley having spline connections with the brush shaft and means to move the shaft relatively axially of the pulley.

2. A machine for the surface finishing of a work piece comprising: a support for the Work piece; a bridge-like structure having mounting means providing for movement in a first direction of the bridge over the surface of the work piece; a trolley mounted on said bridge having mounting means providing for movement of the trolley with respect to the work piece in another direction transverse to the first; a rotatable brush for performing said finishing operation; a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said trolley for supporting said brush; mechanism connected between said trolley and one of said arms providing for movement of the brush in a plurality of vertical positions relative to the work piece and for moving the brush away from the surface of the work piece while the brush is adjusted in any of said positions; and mechanism to oscillate the brush along its axis of rotation comprising a fluid pressure cylinder and piston and means for supplying fluid to the cylinder comprising a valve, a solenoid for actuating the valve, and means to energize the solenoid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 741,335 Hibbard Oct. 13, 1903 970,043 Hall Sept. 13, 1910 1,133,653 Moller Mar. 30, 1915 1,208,944 Garber Dec. 19, 1916 1,247,054 Wollensak Nov. 20, 1917 1,578,342 Moltrup Mar. 30, 1926 1,938,758 Ernst Dec. 12, 1933 1,991,781 Bird Feb. 18, 1935 2,000,614 Roehm May 7, 1935 2,073,816 Talboys Mar. 16, 1937 2,111,868 Mini Mar. 22, 1938 2,157,946 Wortendyke May 9, 1939 2,255,583 Holland Sept. 9, 1941 2,297,976 Nachtman Oct. 6, 1942 2,308,842 Wilson Jan. 19, 1943 2,534,671 Haumann Dec. 19, 1950 2,603,041 Bowen July 15, 1951 2,627,704 Whitehouse Feb. 10, 1953 

